Please take your Bibles and let's open them up this morning to Genesis chapter 5.
! If you are just joining us for the first time, we've been preaching through the book of Genesis.
We started chapter 1 verse 1 and we've made our way all the way to chapter 5.
And one of the benefits of preaching the way that we do, working through books of the Bible,
is that I feel like it really gives us a good understanding of the book as a whole.
And it teaches us to read our Bible and understand passages in context.
One of the challenges is I can't skip over difficult passages.
And that's good and bad.
So this morning, we get to preach a passage, I get to preach a passage,
that if I were just picking a text on my own, I probably never would wind up here in Genesis chapter 5.
But I hope what we'll see as we dive in together is that all Scripture is God-breathed.
and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking.
That the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
This Scripture is good for you.
The Lord has good in it for us to see this morning.
So if you would, let's turn to Genesis chapter 5.
And I will read from chapter 5 through chapter 6 verse 8.
A little bit of a longer passage this morning.
If you're physically able, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.
This is the book of the generations of Adam.
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
Male and female, he created them.
And he blessed them and named them man when they were created.
When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness.
After his image, he named him Seth.
The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years, and he had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.
When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh.
Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years, and he had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.
When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan.
Enosh lived after he fathered Kenan 815 years, and he had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.
When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel.
Kenan lived after he fathered Mahalalel 840 years, and he had other sons and daughters.
Thus the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died.
When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he fathered Jared.
Mahalalel lived after he fathered Jared 830 years, and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.
When Jared had lived 162 years, he fathered Enoch.
Jared lived after he fathered Enoch 800 years, and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah.
Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years, and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he fathered Lamech.
Methuselah lived after he fathered Lamech 782 years, and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.
When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah,
saying,
Out of the ground that the Lord had cursed,
this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.
Lamech lived after he fathered Noah 595 years, and had other sons and daughters.
Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years, and he died.
After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
When man began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them,
the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive,
and they took as their wives any they chose.
Then the Lord said,
My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh.
His days shall be 120 years.
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward,
when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man, and they bore children to them.
These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth,
and it grieved him to his heart.
So the Lord said,
I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land,
man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens,
for I am sorry that I have made them.
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
The grass withers and the flower fades,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Father, we praise you for your word.
We praise you, Father, for your spirit.
And we pray now as we receive this word,
would you speak to us through the preaching of your word?
Would you empower it by your spirit so that we might see Christ in it?
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Well, you may have heard the phrase,
big problems require big solutions.
Or maybe you've heard it like this,
band-aids don't fix bullet holes.
Now, the bigger the problem is,
oftentimes the more drastic the solution needs to be.
And parents realize this as we raise our kids.
Sometimes a small infraction just requires a little bit of discipline.
But as problems start to mount,
instincts ought to kick in.
And you ought to realize something drastic has to happen here.
Big changes need to be made.
You see it in businesses.
Every now and then a business will run into issues.
They'll start to flounder and fail.
And when that happens,
sometimes the only hope is that somebody recognizes it before it's too late
and steps in and starts to make some drastic changes.
We see it happening in our government right now.
Whatever side of the political aisle you may find yourself on,
we can all agree our current regime recognizes,
believes that there are serious issues,
and they're taking some pretty drastic measures to correct it.
Well, here in our passage this morning,
we are seeing with more and more and more increasing clarity
that we have a big problem on our hands.
Now, we're backing all the way up again,
all the way back to Adam,
and we're seeing this terrible reign of sin,
starting with Adam and continuing on down the line
in every single individual born of the line of Adam.
Things are not getting better here.
Things are getting worse,
and we see that a band-aid solution is not going to fix the problem.
And the big idea here as we look at our text is that God will judge sin.
God will address the problem of sin.
And the only hope for sinful people is that God Himself will provide a solution to our sin.
That God Himself will be gracious to sinners like us.
So let's look at our text,
and I want to look first at this genealogy in chapter 5.
We touched on it last time.
We were in Genesis two weeks ago.
And what I want to do here is let's just make a few observations here,
and then we'll spend the bulk of our time in the first eight verses of chapter 6.
So let's look at this genealogy here.
And I have three observations for us.
For one, I want you to remember here,
and this is important,
This genealogy is tracing promise.
You remember this from last time.
The genealogy is a long list of names.
It's not just tracing history,
although it is history.
It's tracing promise.
We now know,
Genesis 3 verse 15,
God has promised us that a sin-defeating,
curse-destroying,
snake-crushing Messiah
is going to come.
God promised us this in Genesis 3 verse 15.
There is hope now that things won't always be this way.
What's been broken will one day be restored.
There's hope that on this side of the fall,
things are going to get better,
even if at the moment it looks impossible.
God's promised it.
And what we've seen is that this promised offspring
will come through the line of Seth,
which is why, if we look here again in chapter 5,
we're going backwards all the way to Adam,
and then he goes from Adam,
not to Cain,
and not to Abel,
but from Adam to Seth.
He's tracing this line of promise
now through the line of Seth.
And from Seth on down the line,
ultimately now to Noah.
And did you notice just the tone of Lamech
as he talked about his son Noah?
Did you hear what he said?
Look at his words there in verse 29 of chapter 5.
He said,
This one will bring us relief.
This one will bring us rest from our painful toil,
relief from the thorns and thistles
that have come because of sin.
He's longing for the rest and the relief
that ultimately only the promised seed of the woman
is going to come and to give.
So, the line is tracing promise.
Another observation here,
number two,
notice the presence of death.
Notice the reign of death
over all that are born from Adam.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick.
Every offspring of the woman
here in the line of Adam,
here in the line of Seth,
came with this expectation
that maybe this will be the one,
but tragically what we see
is death reigns over all of them.
It's interesting, you know,
as we read this,
you know what stands out to us?
It's those long spans of life, isn't it?
And that's what stands out most to us.
We got 930 years of life.
These guys are waiting
until they're like 500 years
before they get married and have kids.
930 years, 807 years, 912 years.
That's what stands out to us,
but we should remember where we are.
We are inches away from the Garden of Eden.
We are just steps away from the tree of life
and this promise of eternal life.
Death is the stranger here.
Death is the disruption here.
Death is not normal.
Death is not a normal part of life.
Death is a enemy.
And yet we see it reigning here over all.
All that is except for one.
So third observation here,
we notice the presence of hope.
Verse 24, chapter 5.
The strange story of Enoch.
Enoch walked with God
and he was not.
For God took him.
We have this constant refrain.
Generation after generation after generation.
He was born.
He fathered children.
And he died.
And now Enoch,
he was not.
For God took him.
Now again,
I don't know exactly what this looked like,
but all I can say is this.
Enoch here gives us hope
that even on this side of the fall,
it is possible,
by the grace of God,
for sinners like you and me,
by the grace of God,
to walk with the Lord
and escape the curse of sin and death.
There is hope here
with the story of Enoch.
But of course,
what we see here is that
Enoch is the exception.
Sin and death are reigning over all humanity.
And as we look now to chapter 6,
we get to see just how big of a problem this is
and exactly what God is going to do about it.
So look there with me to chapter 6.
And I have three questions here
about chapter 6, verses 1 through 8.
And as you read these verses,
you probably have a lot more questions than that.
All right,
but I got three for us
and I'll do my best.
So we see the effect of sin here in chapter 5.
But now we're getting kind of a zoomed in picture,
an in-depth look at exactly what's going on here.
And I'll just go ahead and tell you,
all right,
this is my disclaimer to you.
These verses are hard, okay?
And these are some verses
that Christians sometimes back and forth
and they don't always agree
on the particulars of what's going on.
We agree big picture, right?
Sin is bad.
God is good.
God is going to judge sin.
We agree big picture.
But as we dive in,
in the particulars of interpretation here,
there are different camps, okay?
So let's read it again
and then I'm going to give you my best shot, all right?
Look there again to chapter 6, verse 1.
And I want to ask this question.
What's the problem?
Question number one is,
what's the big issue here?
What's going on?
What's the big problem?
When man began to multiply on the face of the land
and daughters were born to them,
the sons of God saw that the daughters of man
were attractive
and they took as their wives any they chose.
Then the Lord said,
My spirit shall not abide in man forever,
for he is flesh.
His days shall be 120 years.
And the Nephilim were on the earth in those days
and also afterward
when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man
and they bore children to them.
These were the mighty men who were of old,
the men of renown.
The problem, we can agree clearly,
is that the sons of God married the daughters of man.
What's not so immediately clear is who these two groups of people are.
Who are the sons of God and who are the daughters of man
and why is this a problem?
So I'll tell you one popular way to understand this,
one popular interpretation,
and then I'll tell you why I don't think that this is the best way to understand it.
Okay?
The one popular belief
is that the sons of God
are fallen angels
and the daughters of man
are human women.
And so in this view,
in this interpretation,
these fallen angels,
they see that the human daughters are attractive,
they marry them,
and then the product of that relationship,
verse 4,
is the Nephilim,
which in this view is this hybrid race
of like half angel,
half human,
giant warrior people.
Okay?
That's one interpretation.
And so verse 3,
in response to this,
God saw this as wicked
and he brings judgment on the earth for this sin.
Now again,
just so I'm clear,
there are many who hold this view.
Many who are much smarter than me.
Okay?
And that's not saying much,
but many who are more intelligent than me
hold this view.
People I respect,
people that have studied into this
probably deeper and harder than I have.
If you hold this view,
we can still be members of the same church,
that we can still be friends,
we can still get along.
Okay?
But let me tell you why I don't think
this is the best way to understand it.
For one,
Jesus tells us angels don't get married.
Matthew 22,
verse 30,
Jesus tells us that
in the resurrection,
people are like angels.
How are they like angels,
Jesus?
They are like angels
in the sense that
they don't marry
or are given in marriage.
That's one.
Another reason.
Verse 4
clearly tells us
that the Nephilim,
whoever they are,
whatever they are,
they are not the result
of this relationship.
Read it again.
Verse 4.
He tells us the Nephilim
were on the earth
in those days.
What days?
in the days
when all of this happened.
When the sons of God
bore children
with the daughters of man
and also afterward.
So the Nephilim,
are you tracking with me?
The Nephilim can't be
the result of this relationship
because he tells us
they're already there.
Both before and after.
They're these mighty warrior men,
this warrior race
of violent people
that the Israelites
would have been well familiar with.
One more objection here.
And to me,
this is the biggest issue
for me here.
If this is the problem,
if the problem is
that angels are coming down
and marrying human wives,
then why is God's judgment
not directed towards the angels?
We know what's coming,
don't we?
We know what's coming next.
Everything that follows
is that God is going to wipe away
the entire population
of the earth.
All mankind
will be destroyed
with a flood
of God's judgment
with the exception
of Noah and his family.
Clearly,
this judgment
isn't directed
towards angels
and their wickedness.
It is directed
against humans
and our wickedness.
Why?
Because,
verse 5,
the Lord saw
that the wickedness
of man
was great in the earth
and that every intention
of the thoughts
of his heart
was only evil.
Continually,
we'll come back to that.
So,
if that's not
what's happening here,
then what's the problem?
What's going on here?
And this is,
again,
this is why context
is so important.
Church.
The Bible
is not just
a bunch of loosely
connected,
mishmash,
just assembly
of random stories.
The Bible
is not like
a greatest hits album
that's just composed
of singles
and put together
in one CD here.
The book
holds together.
And if you ever
wonder what a passage
means,
what a difficult passage
means,
question number one
for you ought to be,
well,
what would context
lead me to believe?
The problem
in my understanding here,
the problem
is that the one
supposedly
godly line,
the line of Seth,
the line of promise
that was supposed
to be a glimmer of hope
in the midst
of a dark
and fallen world,
this line of promise
is now intermarrying
with non-believers.
They are proving
themselves
to be just like
everyone else.
In my understanding,
the sons of God
here aren't fallen angels,
the sons of God
who,
as we saw last time
from chapter 4,
these are those
who began to call
upon the name
of the Lord.
The sons of God
are the chosen
line of Seth.
They are the faithful,
at least they're
supposed to be.
And the daughters
of man
are those who are
faithless,
the ungodly,
and the wicked.
The problem here
is that there is
no distinction
between the righteous
and the wicked.
They've all become wicked.
All of them
are polluted
with sin.
Now you see
how this is a big problem.
I mean,
just think about
going forward
throughout the rest
of Scripture,
how the Lord
makes it abundantly clear
there must be
a distinction
between the righteous
and the wicked.
Between my people
and between
all the rest.
He says,
purge the evil
from among you,
he says in Deuteronomy.
As we go to
the New Testament,
2 Corinthians,
Paul tells us,
do not be
unequally yoked
with unbelievers.
A Christian
ought not
marry
a non-Christian,
Paul says.
Why not?
He says,
for what partnership
has righteousness
with lawlessness?
These things
don't go together.
What fellowship
has light
with darkness?
There's a difference.
There's a distinction.
What accord
has Christ
with Belial?
What portion
does a believer
share with an unbeliever?
What agreement
has the temple
of God
with idols?
For we,
church,
are the temple
of the living God.
As God said,
I will make
my dwelling
among them
and walk
among them
and I will be
their God
and they shall
be my people.
Therefore,
go out
from their midst
and be separate
from them,
says the Lord,
and touch
no unclean
thing.
Then I will
welcome you
and I will be
a father to you
and you shall be
sons and daughters
to me,
says the Lord
God Almighty.
Do you hear
the distinction
the Lord's making?
There is to be
a dividing line,
a clear
and obvious
distinction
between the
righteous
and the
wicked.
In fact,
this is what
was happening
here in the
local church.
This is what
church membership
does.
It's an affirmation
that you belong
to the Lord.
You are marked
off from the
unbelieving world.
The church
are those who
have been brought
out of darkness
and into his
marvelous light
through faith
in the Messiah.
God.
The problem
here, I believe,
is that this
faithful, this
line of promise
is now intermarrying
with non-believers.
They are not
marrying within
the believing
community, those
who call upon
the name of the
Lord.
They are going
outside of those
who worship
Yahweh and
picking for
themselves wives,
whatever wives
that they want.
They aren't
seeking mates
primarily based
on spiritual
priorities, but
rather based
on external
appearance.
And you
recognize this
is the same
sin of the
garden repeated,
isn't it?
Just as Eve
saw that the
fruit was to be
desired, saw
that it was
good and she
took it, so
now the sons
of God see
the forbidden
women, they
see that they
look good and
they take for
themselves wives
as they choose.
You see the
issue.
all are
wicked.
All are
ruled by
sin.
There is no
distinction
whatsoever.
So now
question number
two.
What is the
Lord's response?
What is the
Lord's response?
Look there with
me to verse
five, chapter
six.
The Lord saw
that the
wickedness of
man was great
in the earth
and that
every intention
of the thoughts
of his heart
was only evil
continually.
Can we just
stop there?
Let us let that
sink in.
How bad has it
gotten?
Every intention
of every thought,
of every heart,
of every man
is only evil
all the time.
That's the problem.
the problem
here is that
all men
and women
and children
have within
them this
dreadful
sickness
of sin.
And friend,
apart from the
grace of God,
that is our
problem.
the second
London
Baptist
confession
says it like
this,
says our
first parents,
Adam and Eve,
by this sin
fell from their
original righteousness
and communion
with God
and we
in them,
we
in
them,
whereby
death came
upon
all.
You want to
know why we
die?
This is why.
All becoming
dead in
sin,
not just
physical death,
spiritual death,
and wholly
defiled in
all the
faculties and
parts of
soul and
body.
Every intention
of every
thought,
of every
heart,
of every
man,
only evil
all the
time.
Our own
statement of
faith says
something similar,
says this,
here's what we
confess to
believe,
as a result
of the
disobedience
of our
first parents,
Adam and
Eve,
all humanity
are now
sinners,
not by
constraint,
but by
choice,
being by
nature,
utterly
devoid of
the holiness
required by
God,
and completely
inclined to
evil.
Every
intention,
of every
heart,
of every
man,
is only
evil all
the time.
Do you
see that
for what
it is?
Do you
believe that
to be true
about you,
apart from
the grace
of God?
Do you
believe that
to be
true about
you naturally,
by nature
and by
choice,
apart from
God's
grace?
This isn't
just a
them
problem,
this is
us,
apart from
the grace
of God,
by nature.
Every
intention,
of every
thought,
of your
heart,
and my
heart,
is only
evil all
the time,
apart from
the grace
of God.
Do you
believe
that?
sin is
not like
what Thomas
Aquinas
and the
Catholics
said.
They said
that sin
just wounds
us.
It's a
wound,
a wound
that can
be patched
up and
covered up
and cleaned
up.
It's a
wound that
can be
bandaged.
We prefer
to think
about it
like that,
don't we?
Because we
want something
that we
can just
improve
upon and
make better
and just
dust off
and try
harder tomorrow
and everything
will be
okay.
The
biblical
understanding
of sin
is not
that
optimistic.
The
Bible
tells us
sin has
not just
wounded
us,
sin has
killed
us.
By
nature,
we are
dead
in our
trespasses
and sins.
We are
not just
in need
of a
bandage.
We need
to be
born
again
by the
grace
of
God.
We have
to understand
the depth
of this
condition
that runs
through each
and every
one of us
because apart
from this,
we will
never
understand
the Lord's
response
to our
sin.
Look there
to verse
six.
It says,
the Lord
regretted
that he
had made
man on
the earth
and it
grieved
him
to his
heart.
Now,
you all
know I
like to
be
theologically
precise
and theological
precision
requires
here that
I say
something like
God is
totally
sovereign
and a
sovereign
eternal
God has
no regrets.
God is
infinitely
satisfied,
infinitely
happy.
He is
happy
within
himself,
within
the
Godhead
for all
of
eternity
and an
infinitely
happy
God
feels
no grief
like we
do.
That's
correct.
But don't
miss the
point that
he's making
here.
What he's
doing is
he's using
as the
Bible often
does in
an attempt
to explain
to finite
creatures
with limited
understanding.
The Bible
often
condescends
to our
level of
understanding
in order
to describe
to us
an infinite
and incomprehensible
God.
He's using
human
experience,
human
language
and human
emotion
to communicate
a truth
to us
that we
don't need
to miss.
Our sin
grieves
the Lord
who made
us.
God is
grieved
by our
sin.
He is
opposed
to our
sin.
He's
offended
by our
sin.
He sees
it and
it grieves
him.
He's against
us in
our sin.
Clearly
this is a
big problem
and that
big problem
requires a
big solution.
So here
the Lord
says,
I will
blot
out man
whom I
have
created
from the
face of
the land.
Man
and animals
and creeping
things and
birds of the
heavens for
I am
sorry
that I
have
made
them.
Verse
3,
My spirit
shall not
abide in
man forever
for he
is flesh.
His days
shall be
120 years.
In other
words,
the time
is set.
Problem
won't go
on forever.
The Lord
has set
a day.
The Lord
has set
a time.
The rebellion
will not
last forever.
The sin
will not
endure
forever.
God
will address
it in
120
years.
The clock
goes off
and judgment
will come
upon the
world.
By a
flood of
judgment,
he will
wipe
mankind
from the
face of
the planet.
I wonder,
does that
sound severe
to you?
In the
coming weeks,
Lord willing,
we'll get a
sense of just
how devastating
this was,
this worldwide
flood.
All but
eight people.
But you
can imagine
it now.
The whole
world.
This is an
undoing of
creation.
He is just
wiping the
slate clean.
He told
them that
the day
they ate
of the
fruit of
the tree,
they would
surely die.
And now,
he says,
within 120
years,
that bill
is going
to come
due.
Whatever
your sense
of how
devastating
and terrible
that was,
know two
things.
For one,
that judgment
was 100%
just.
Our sin
deserves
judgment.
And two,
this flood,
as horrible,
as devastating
as it was,
is just a
small,
small picture
of a greater
judgment to
come at the
return of the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
Let me read
to you this
passage from
2 Peter.
We read part
of it this
morning already.
He's referencing
the flood.
He says this,
scoffers will
come in the
last days
with scoffing,
following their
own sinful
desires.
And they
will say,
where is the
promise of
his coming?
Where is
Jesus?
You said
Jesus was
coming back.
Where is
he?
For ever
since the
fathers fell
asleep,
all things
are continuing
as they were
from the
beginning of
creation.
They deliberately
overlook this
fact that the
heavens existed
long ago,
and the
earth was
formed out
of water
and through
water by
the word
of God,
and that by
means of
these the
world that
then existed
was deluged
with water
and perished.
Listen to
this.
But by the
same word,
the heavens
and earth
that now
exist are
stored up
for fire,
being kept
until the
day of
judgment and
destruction of
the ungodly.
In other
words,
there is a
greater day
of judgment
yet to
come.
There is a
more horrible
moment of
God's wrath
yet to
come.
There is a
greater
destruction of
the ungodly
and the
wicked yet
to come.
When we
look back
at this
and we're
in horror
of a
global flood
that wipes
out all
but eight,
we ought to
look forward
to this day
of God's
wrath and
tremble.
There's a
day of
judgment
yet to
come.
we should
look at
this wickedness
and realize
by nature
this is
our
wickedness.
Every
intention
of every
thought,
of every
heart,
of every
man,
always evil
all the
time.
That is
us.
We should
look at
God's
posture
towards
this sin,
towards our
sin and
realize by
nature,
God is
opposed to
us.
We should
look at
this promise
of coming
judgment and
realize there
is a
greater judgment
yet to
come.
And if
we are
wicked,
friend,
it is
coming for
us.
This
problem is
our problem.
And if
that is
true,
then we
have to
ask,
is there
any hope
at all
for the
wicked?
Is there
any hope
at all
for sinners
like us?
All of
us have
sinned and
fallen short
of the
glory of
God.
Every
single one
of us
is guilty.
Is there
any hope
at all
for a
sinner?
And we
know,
those who
know the
gospel say,
praise God,
the answer
is a
resounding
yes.
So question
number three,
what is
our hope?
Friend,
our only
hope is
the grace
of God
towards
sinners
like us.
The only
hope for
a sinner
like me
is that
God would
be gracious
to me,
a sinner.
That God
would show
mercy to
me.
In the
midst here
of this
universal
wickedness
and coming
judgment,
there is a
single ray
of hope
here in
verse 8.
Look there
with me.
You see
what it
says?
Judgment
is coming,
but Noah
found favor
in the eyes
of the
Lord.
just like
Enoch,
Noah
here gives
us hope
that even
on this
side of
the fall,
even here
outside of
the garden,
even here
with sin
running rampant
through us
and everybody
else,
there is
the possibility
that God
might show
favor to
sinners like
me.
We'll see
soon enough
that Noah
is a sinner
too.
Noah has
the same
problem
that we
do.
He has
the same
sin running
through his
veins that
we do.
He is
just as
deserving
of the
wrath of
God as
I am
and everybody
else,
but Noah
by the
mercy and
the grace
of God,
a sinner
found favor
in the eyes
of the
Lord.
God.
This is
the glorious
grace of
God on
display and
this is our
only hope.
This but
Noah, it
can be phrased
in a different
way and I
want you to
think about it
like this because
the emphasis
isn't so much
on Noah.
The point is
the astounding
grace of God
toward a sinner
like Noah.
Read it like
this and you
tell me if it
sounds familiar
to you.
Noah was
as good as
dead because
of sin,
but God
showed favor
to Noah.
Noah is a
sinner deserving
judgment,
but God
showed him
unmerited,
undeserved
favor.
Noah had
earned himself
death, he
was guilty,
but God
gave him
life.
If you're a
Christian, that
ought to sound
real familiar
to you because
that's your
story.
Your story,
Christian.
is what we
sang just a
few moments
ago.
I once was
lost in
darkest night.
I thought I
knew the way,
the sin that
promised joy
and life led
me to the
grave.
I had no
hope that you
would own a
rebel to your
will and if you
had not loved
me first, I
would refuse you
still.
But as I ran
my hellbound
race, indifferent
to the cost,
you looked upon
my helpless
state and
you led me
to the cross.
You did it.
And I beheld
God's love
displayed.
You suffered
in my place.
You bore the
wrath reserved
for me.
Now all I
know is
grace.
Hallelujah.
All I have
is Christ.
Hallelujah.
What's the
response?
Hallelujah.
Jesus is my
life.
That is the
anthem of the
Christian soul.
I was dead.
I deserve
judgment.
I'm guilty.
I am wicked
to the core.
But God
has been
gracious and
has shown
mercy to me
a sinner.
Paul says
something similar
in Ephesians
chapter 2.
You were dead
not wounded.
Dead in the
trespasses and
sins in which
you once
walked.
Not sick.
Not wounded.
Not hurt.
Not able to
brush yourself
off.
Not in need
of a band-aid.
Not able to
turn over a
new leaf.
You were
dead.
Following the
course of this
world.
Following the
prince of the
power of the
air.
The spirit
that is now
at work in
the sons of
disobedience.
Among whom
we all once
lived in the
passions of
our flesh.
Carrying out
the desires of
the body and
the mind and
were by nature
children of
wrath like the
rest of
mankind.
But God
being rich in
mercy because
of the great
love with which
he loved us
even when we
were dead in
our trespasses
made us alive
together with
Christ.
By grace you
have been
saved.
Raised us
up with
him and
seated us
with him in
the heavenly
places in
Christ Jesus
so that in
the coming
ages he
might show
the immeasurable
riches of
his grace in
kindness toward
us in
Christ Jesus.
Is that your
story friend?
Do you see
here your
wickedness?
Do you see
here your
sin and
your depravity?
Do you see
your guilt and
God's response
to your sin?
Do you see it?
Do you see
your need for
grace?
If so
call out to
the Lord and
ask him
Lord would you
would you show
mercy on a
sinner like me?
Would you be
gracious to a
sinner like me?
Would you
would you lead
me to trust in
the only provision
for my sin which
is the Savior
Jesus Christ?
Big problems
require big
solutions.
God's
solution for
the problem of
sin ultimately
as we'll see
over the next
several weeks is
not a flood.
This flood
as terrible as
it is is a
band-aid on
the bullet hole
of our sin.
The problem of
sin it needs a
much bigger
solution than
that to crush
the head of
the serpent.
God will
crush his own
son in our
place.
To peel back
the curse of
sin Christ
Jesus himself
will become a
curse for us.
On the cross
for our sake
for sinners
sake he made
him who knew
no sin to
become sin for
us so that in
him by faith
in him sinners
like us might
become the
righteousness of
God.
God's
solution for
the problem of
sin is the
gospel of Jesus
Christ.
The perfect
life, the
sacrificial death,
the victorious
resurrection of
the promised seed
of the woman so
that by grace
undeserving sinners
like us by
faith in him
can now walk
with God and
escape the curse
of sin and
death.
Amen.
Father we
praise you for
the gospel.
There's no hope
for sinners like
us apart from
your grace.
There's no hope
for us apart
from the
sacrifice, from
the life, from
the resurrection
of Jesus.
So we thank you
and we praise you
Lord for this
fulfilled promise,
the seed of the
woman who has
conquered sin and
conquered the
grave and
defeated our
enemy.
And we pray
Lord if there
are any who
don't know you
Lord who are
still wicked in
your sight God
would you by
your grace call
them to put their
faith in Christ
even this moment.
We pray all
this in Jesus
name.
Amen.